today marks the 75th observance of this critical battle. which runs thru June 6th the objective of the Japanese Navy at the Battle of Midway was two-fold. The first objective was to lure the American carriers out and destroy them. This would have given the Japanese Navy total superiority in the Pacific. The second objective, was to land an invasion force at Midway and take the atoll (the "island" of Midway). This would have provide Japan with an easternmost base capable of launching land based bombers to Hawaii. in April of 42 we strike back with the Doolittle raiders carrier attack on the empire. the US carriers that escaped the pearl harbor take Doolittle to within 800mi of the coast of Japan. we knew they would strike back but where and when?? enter the code breakers listening in to Japan's command level radio transmissions about a constant referral to "objective AF". I call this a code breakers wet dream AF is short of water. In the spring of 1942, Japanese intercepts began to make references to a pending operation in which the objective was designated as "AF." Rochefort and Captain Edwin Layton, Nimitz's Fleet Intelligence Officer, believed "AF" might be Midway since they had seen "A" designators assigned to locations in the Hawaiian Islands. Based on the information available, logic dictated that Midway would be the most probable place for the Japanese Navy to make its next move. Nimitz however, could not rely on educated guesses. In an effort to alleviate any doubt, in mid-May the commanding officer of the Midway installation was instructed to send a message in the clear indicating that the installation's water distillation plant had suffered serious damage and that fresh water was needed immediately. Shortly after the transmission, an intercepted Japanese intelligence report indicated that "AF is short of water." AF was midway. we loose the Yorktown but the IJN never threatens us again